2015 Lotus Eterne - 2010 Paris Auto Show

Lotus builds a 4-door exotic… yes, really.

Sure, the Lotus Omega (aka the Carlton) made for quite the cool, power-slide-friendly family sedan of the '90s, but the upcoming Eterne will catapult Lotus' 4-door vehicle reputation to a whole new level. If the Eterne appears to be a direct challenge to Porsche's Panamera Turbo and Aston Martin's Rapide, well, it is, as this sexy new saloon looks to deliver on every level—with style and performance—when it arrives in 2015.

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At 197 in. long, this front-engine 4-seater sits right in between the Rapide and Panamera in length, but is the narrowest of the three at 74.8 in. It shares the supercharged 5.0-liter V-8 powerplant (sourced from Lexus) with the upcoming Elite, an engine that puts out between 562 bhp and 612 bhp, driving the rear wheels through Lotus' new epicyclic transmission. The transmission, which will feature a "unique electronic selector," integrates twin electric motors that are also said to help reduce CO2 emissions by 40 percent. Optional with this powertrain is a KERS (Kinetic Energy Recovery System) push-to-pass feature, providing an extra 49 bhp with a touch of a button, while the computer-controlled continuously variable suspension adjusts to provide optimal vehicle dynamics for various situations.

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Like the rest of Lotus' bold new lineup, the Eterne will be built on a variation of Lotus' next-generation modular Versatile Vehicle Architecture (VVA), a lightweight structure of formed aluminum bonded together with carbon-fiber body panels. The Eterne is just a part of Lotus' grand plan to begin building and selling upward of 8000 cars per year. But at a range-topping price of $190,000, it likely won't be Lotus' volume seller.